Suthers' health care lawsuit spurs interest in a challenge

The Colorado attorney general's decision earlier this week to join a national lawsuit that attempts to block recently passed federal health care legislation has gotten Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett thinking about mounting a run for the seat.

"It appears to me to be a blatantly partisan act and pointless," Garnett said Friday of Attorney General John Suthers' decision to join a dozen other states in challenging the health care bill. "I think it's a mistake and a misuse of the office of attorney general."

Suthers, who is Republican, and a list of mostly Republican attorneys general claim that a provision in the new law requiring most Americans to purchase insurance is unconstitutional.

John Suthers

Garnett, a Democrat, said Suthers' decision "embroils" Colorado in a lawsuit challenging decades of case law concerning states' rights and the extent of federal power that was long ago settled.

"When it comes to making policy statements, it's important that prosecutors speak freely," he said. "But when you go to court, it's also essential that be done for reasons that are not partisan. (Suthers) is the attorney general for Colorado -- he's not the attorney general for the Republican Party in Colorado."

Despite his opposition to Suthers' announcement, Garnett said he is still far from certain about whether to launch a statewide campaign against him this fall -- even claiming Friday to be "strongly leaning against" a run.

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His short tenure as top prosecutor in the 20th Judicial District -- less than 15 months -- is one of his reservations.

"I'm reluctant to walk away from a job that is only partially done," Garnett said.

He said he will talk with party leaders and others over the weekend and hopes to make a decision by next week.

"I think Stan Garnett would be a fabulous candidate for attorney general," said Colorado Democratic Party chairwoman Pat Waak.

Waak said Garnett is one of six or so names that have surfaced to take on Suthers. She said interest in putting up a Democratic contender for attorney general heated up markedly after Suthers stated his position on the health care bill Monday.

"If you could see the number of e-mails I'm getting from people who are enraged at his announcement, that would show the level of increased interest in just the last 48 hours," Waak said.

Dick Wadhams, chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, said President Barack Obama's health care plan is not the winning issue in the state that Garnett may think it is.

"If the district attorney wants to run against the attorney general, I would welcome him to make the health care issue the centerpiece of his campaign," he said.

Katy Atkinson, a Republican political analyst, said Suthers' intention to legally challenge the health care bill could gain traction among Colorado's voters.

"One person's partisanship is another person's principled stand," she said.

Atkinson said Suthers will benefit from being a Republican in a year that many think bodes well for the party -- especially in a down-ticket race like attorney general, where voters tend to vote the party.

Political analyst Floyd Ciruli agreed that health care alone may not be enough to propel Garnett past Suthers in an electoral contest, but he said the Boulder DA could parlay the issue to raise money on a wider scale.

"That would be an issue that Garnett could get national attention and attract funds from the national Democratic committee, MoveOn.org and the interest groups that are trying to nationalize the issue," Ciruli said.

He said Garnett, who worked for years at the well-placed Denver law firm Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber and Schreck, could tap his old colleagues in the money-raising game and use the firm's powerful connections to the movers and shakers in the nation's capital to his advantage.

"He is a logical candidate -- he's a well-respected district attorney," Ciruli said. "He has all the credentials."

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